The official blog of the Campaign for the American Reader, an independent initiative to encourage more readers to read more books.

Friday, November 27, 2009

What is Erin Dionne reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Erin Dionne, author of Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies and The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet.

Her entry opens:

I read in a range of genres, but I'm streaky: I'll immerse myself in middle grade or YA fiction for a while, then switch to nonfiction, short stories, or adult contemporary or literary fiction. The giant To Be Read pile next to my bed never seems to shrink in size. As a matter of fact, my daughter frequently uses it as a step to help her climb up and down off my bed!

I'm nearly done with Stephen King's Just After Sunset, a story collection that came out several months ago. I'm an unabashed King fan, and I always find a gem or two in his story collections. In this one, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a standout. Originally published in Esquire magazine, it's a suspenseful story with a resourceful heroine. King also added notes at the end of Sunset that detail the origins of each story, which I really appreciate. It's fascinating to get a glimpse into...[read on]

Erin Dionne’s debut novel, Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, was inspired by events that occurred in seventh grade, when she wore a scary peach bridesmaid dress in her cousin’s wedding and threw up on her gym teacher’s shoes (not at the same event). Although humiliating at the time, these experiences are working for her now. Erin lives outside of Boston with her husband and daughter, and a very insistent dog named Grafton. She roots for the Red Sox, teaches English at an art college, and sometimes eats chocolate cookies.

Among the praise for Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies:

“The wry, funny tone makes this book a pleasurable read, and teens of all body types will enjoy Celeste’s original voice.”–School Library Journal

“It’s a clever premise…engaging [scenes].…readers will warm to Celeste.”—Kirkus Reviews

Dionne's new novel, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, is out in early January 2010.